Sports and Leisure Management’s Everyone Active has been named the new operator of Sheffield’s sport and leisure venues, as of January 2025.
Last year, Sheffield City Council revealed that the city’s leisure and entertainment venues were set to receive £117 million of investment including rebuilds of some of the city’s most popular leisure centres and improvements to Sheffield’s Utilita Arena and City Hall.
As part of these plans, in June 2023, a competitive procurement process was launched in a bid to attract the best in leisure and entertainment provision to run Sheffield’s venues.
Earlier this year, ASM Global was announced as the new operator for the entertainment venues, Utilita Arena Sheffield and Sheffield City Hall.
Following the final stage of the highly competitive tender process, Everyone Active, part of Sports and Leisure Management (SLM), has now been announced as the new operator of Sheffield’s citywide sport and leisure centres, and golf courses.
Founded in 1987, Everyone Active manages over 220 leisure and cultural centres across the UK in partnership with more than 60 different local authorities.
Councillor Tom Hunt, Leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “Sheffield is a city of sport, and we are incredibly proud of our sporting heritage and facilities.
“Thousands of people enjoy our sport and leisure facilities every day, and our incredible venues have played host to major sporting events over the years. Our facilities have also cultivated talented athletes that have gone on to compete in the Olympics, world championships and who have reached the highest level in their sport.
“Everyone Active will bring a wealth of experience and expertise to help elevate our sport and leisure offer across the city, even further.”
Councillor Kurtis Crossland, Chair of the Communities, Parks and Leisure Committee at Sheffield City Council, added: “We are committed to ensuring that every person in Sheffield has access to facilities and services that support them in being more active, more often.
“Everyone Active share these ambitions and have shown their commitment to help us tackle health inequalities across Sheffield, which is why we are delighted to welcome them onboard.”
From January 2025, Everyone Active will take over the management of three golf courses and seven leisure facilities across the city, including the English Institute of Sport (EISS), one of seven high performance centres across England providing access to high quality facilities that are specifically designed for elite athletes. These include boxing, paralympic table tennis, paralympic badminton and table tennis.
The EISS has a rich sporting history. It is home to a range of professional sports clubs and has supported some of the country’s most successful athletes who have trained at the venue, including Sheffield’s Dame Jessica Ennis Hill, Anthony Joshua during his time on the GB Boxing programme, World Champion Para Badminton player, Jack Shepherd and Will Bayley, the world’s number one paralympic table tennis player.
It is also home to several National Governing Bodies and influential sporting organisations as well as community gym and indoor athletics facilities.
Everyone Active will also operate Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, which is home to City of Sheffield Swim School and City of Sheffield Diving; the home of Paris 2024 bronze medallist Yasmin Harper. It is one of only a dozen Olympic sized swimming pools in the UK and also home to Europe’s deepest diving pool.
Alongside Ponds Forge, Everyone Active will operate IceSheffield, the home of British Ice Skating and the Sheffield Steeldogs. It is also a centre of excellence for figure skating, ice dance and hockey and one of the only two facilities in the UK that has two Olympic sized ice pads.
Hillsborough, Concord and Springs Leisure centres and Heeley Pool, will also come under Everyone Active control next year, followed by Graves, Thorncliffe and Wisewood Leisure Centres in 2026.
David Bibby, Managing Director at Everyone Active, said: “We feel privileged to have been chosen as the new operator for Sheffield’s sport and leisure venues. There is an incredible array of facilities within the city, renowned for hosting major sporting events and cultivating world-class athletes.
“As a company that started out 37 years ago running a single site, it is fantastic to continue our growth in new areas of the UK, now reaching more than 240 leisure and cultural facilities.
“Sheffield is an amazing city, and we are delighted to be working in partnership with Sheffield City Council to serve the vibrant communities within it. We take huge pride in offering opportunities for people of all ages, abilities and interests to engage in physical activity.
“Our experience of managing elite facilities across the country means we are well placed to continue the legacy of Sheffield’s iconic venues, and we look forward to keeping the spirit of sport and exercise alive across the city.”
Councillor Kurtis Crossland added: “As we enter this new exciting chapter, we would also like to thank the amazing teams at Sheffield City Trust and Places Leisure, who have done so much for our venues and to keep our communities active over the years.
“The majority of these teams will transfer to Everyone Active and continue their hard work to help keep Sheffield Moving More.”
